Irene , a senior manager with many years of experience in foisting change on others found herself facing change in the guise of finding another job.  Her response to the offer of assistance was:  “I know what I want, I know what I must do and I don’t need your help, thanks. “

I kept in touch , phone calls , emails etc and when I got a response it was a concise: “great thanks.”

Irene had something to prove, all those years of managing others , being smart , street- wise , focused and hard working really did mean she must be able to find another job by herself .

Four weeks into her job search, I received a different response to my contact, anger , at how rude people were, at how demeaning particular behaviour was, how soul -destroying job seeking was and it was obviously their fault , not hers.

Another four weeks into her job search, Irene was getting worried about her financial situation and the “buckets of tears “ had commenced – not literally but the emotional response was building , moving from anger to contained despair .

Now, Irene was ready to ask for assistance.

So together we reviewed what she wanted, what she had been doing, what was working, what was not working, and what else she could do.  Using two (and sometimes more than two ) brains we developed a strategy that was successful .

Irene found a job she could be happy in and for the money she could initially be satisfied with.  She learnt that relying on others on occasions, can be a liberating, effective and enjoyable thing to do.